Everyone,
I've had a rash of bad luck with the boys lately. Monday, while I was taking my shower, they decided that all of my clothes in my drawers needed to be pulled out. Six big drawers were emptied of everything. When I opened my bathroom door to see what they were doing (after the shower, I am blissfully unaware in the shower) they were rolling in the clothes and laughing. It took me an hour to resort, fold and put away all those clothes.
Tuesday they decided that they were going to turn on all the electronics in my room. My tiny TV that I use to do my exercise videos on, my cd player, etc. They actually got a cd out of the player and have lost it. I've looked everywhere for it in all the normal places; drawers, boxes, bathtub. This prompted me to put the electronics on a power strip out of their sight so if I want to use those things, I just have to flip the switch. Plus, it might also save us a tiny bit on our electricity bill.
This morning they found Butterfly's markers and drew all along the bottom of my bed. My bed is in a big wooden box so they just drew on the wood. I was able to wipe it all off (thank goodness for magic erasers) but still!
To make it even worse, I did try to lock them in our extra room while I was in the shower but they somehow managed to get that door open before I even got into the tub. And then they wouldn't go near it after that. It's like they remember or something.
All of this daily destruction has really got me thinking. Christmas is coming. Christmas = tree. Tree = disaster! My house is tiny. I can't put it in the main room and block it off. There's not enough room TO block it off. And with what would I block it off with?! The couches they climb over, the chairs they get on, they are even starting to scale the toy cube thing I have.
I have ornaments from when I was a baby. We add to our ornament collection every year. You can't replace some of these! I would be heartbroken if my old ones broke. Juice and I and my Mom (who was on the phone at the time for our weekly call) had a good time brainstorming some ideas.
- different rooms to put the gated tree in...not very practical
- not putting up the tree at all this year...sad!
- putting up the tree but putting no ornaments on it...feasible.
- hanging the ornaments/lights from the ceiling
- making a cardboard tree
- putting the tree in another room
- renting a house and putting the tree there so we could visit it daily
- cutting down a tree limb and putting it in a bucket in our living room like poor sad Charlie Brown's tree
- doing an outside tree this year and not hanging up our yearly ornaments...still kind of sad.
- having a table top tree to hang this year's ornaments on and putting it up out of the boys' reach, hmm...best one yet!
I think what we finally decided on was to get a tiny tree to hang this year's ornaments on, and set up our big tree with lights and tinsel and nothing else. Also, I intend to tie it down somewhere. Bolt it to the wall or something. I love our tree. I can't imagine not having it out since it's older than I am. This will be it's 30th year.
I think it might be nice NOT to have to retire the tree this year because of certain someones in our house.
The ornaments will not have changed since last year. They will be the same next year. They are just going to get a year off. I think I'll either get a tiny wire tree or a potted tree for this year's ornaments. I'll probably have to put it on top of the refrigerator to keep it away from curious fingers. At least, hopefully, this will let me keep my sanity!
Safire
“Tell them to Have Faith in Me”
10 years ago
I like the idea of renting a house to visit daily. Can I go in on that with you?!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, I think your plan is a good one. I think taking a year off from your favorite old ornaments will be perfectly fine and will save some sanity. And you can still hang a lot of things up--just not those ones you fear to break. :)
I think that's a great idea! When Sprout was little I put our tree up on an end table. We've also taken away the glass ornaments and replaced them with plastic ones. It's fun trying to keep prying little hands away from delicate decorations.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was even pondering not putting up any decorations at all for the same reason - but then was sad, yes. I thought of the table top idea too. Or you could just make it so all the low ornaments were stuff they could play with, tied on with a little string or whatever and something totally disposable, then put your good ones up high. But yes, you still run into the possibility of them just pulling it over. I think my mom has run a wire from our tree to a nail in the wall or something else stable before. That could be a possibility. Yeah, the options of what can happen while you're out of sight is limitless. And exhausting. I shower when they're strapped in their high chairs. Maybe you'd have to consider an alternative like that for the holiday season.
ReplyDeleteWe did that one year when Lucy and Hannah were little. We didn't put out our fragile ornaments and decorations. We put a little tree up high and had a bigger one (but still small) up on a bench that had lights built in that they couldn't pull off. The word for it left my head at the moment. It changes every year. When we have little ones around we modify things.
ReplyDeleteWhen my brother was little, we put our tree in a playpin so he wouldn't pull it down or anything. I think it worked pretty well.
ReplyDelete~Flower
I have a great story to tell you about our Charlie Brown Christmas tree one year... My kids really wanted us to do that this year, anyway, I will tell you about it later.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a dollar store by your house? We put up our tree bare for a few days so the kids get over the coolness and leave it alone. Then we put up cheap ornaments mostly on top. Anything in reach ends up all over the house.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too worried about Angel - she'll copy P&J. Sounds like you have your own PeanutButter & Jelly Adventure stories - how fun :)
When R was little, we hung the ornaments from the light fixtures and off of the tops of door frames.
Christmas lights and tinsel up along the ceiling. It can still feel very christmasy. Last year we put each wrapped present on top of the cupboards. The kids LOVED seeing the wrapped presents and asked every day if it was time to get them down. It was nice to have them visible yet safe. Nice to not have to hide them.